S.A. Christians ready for Houston

Saturday event will feature Perry, others praying for nation.

Buses and caravans of local Christians will make the three-hour commute Saturday to Houston, where they'll join the statewide prayer gathering called by Gov. Rick Perry to pray for the nation.

There will be Protestants, Catholics and nondenominational groups who applaud the governor's willingness to lead a cause rooted in their beliefs.

Critics see it as a veiled strategy to appeal to socially conservative voters as Perry eyes a presidential bid. And they object to an elected official backing a religious event for an exclusive group, prompting alternative interfaith events on the same day, including one in San Antonio.

Called “The Response,” the gathering at Houston's Reliant Stadium is expected to draw at least 8,000 people. More than 800 will come from Cornerstone Church, which is organizing bus trips there. Others, such as Eileen Vincent, are traveling on their own.

“I'm thankful because it's nice to see politicians who are God-fearing and would turn to God in prayer for these desperate times,” said Vincent, founder of City Reachers, a 13-year-old prayer ministry in San Antonio. “The issue is that this whole event is led by the church. We need to call for the blessing of God upon our cities and states and our nation.”

The complete program has not been released, including Perry's role. But he will attend the entire rally, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., event spokesman Eric Bearse said.

Half of the schedule will focus on spiritual repentance, and the other on praying against idolatry and blessing the next generation of youth, he said.

“There's a palpable sense that the country is at a crossroads, and millions of Americans are suffering economically and others are feeling the effects of natural disasters or even the challenge of raising children in a culture that sometimes conflicts with their own values,” Bearse said.

Prayer requests also will cover bringing rain to the state's drought-stricken land, many local ministers said.

They envision an atmosphere similar to National Day of Prayer events, held each spring in public venues by mostly evangelical groups. They pray for the nation, ask for God's blessing and forgiveness, read Scripture, and sing worship songs.

San Antonio Catholics will have a presence in Houston, largely to make a statement of Christian unity, said retired Amarillo Bishop John Yanta, who lives in San Antonio and endorsed the event along with retired Corpus Christi Bishop Rene Gracida and Father Bob Hogan, a San Antonio priest in the Catholic charismatic renewal movement.

“This is an ecumenical effort,” Yanta said. “Jesus, I'm sure is very saddened by the divisions in our world in religion and politics and the economy, and prayer is the greatest power on Earth.”

Noted Christian minister and author Max Lucado of San Antonio also endorsed the event. Wedding anniversary plans preclude his attendance, he said, but he and Oak Hills Church have promoted it as a timely opportunity.

“Here we are in the middle of drought and Texas wildfires and an economy in a state of decline,” he said. “I find it refreshing that in the middle of such challenges, we have a governor who tells us to pray. That's encouraging to me. We can't ignore the fact that we are spiritual people. I think he recognizes that we need prayer right now.”

Jewish and Muslim leaders are expected to take part in the open-door, come-when-you-can event from 2 to 5 p.m., sponsored by the San Antonio Community of Congregations.

“They chose to be quite narrow and exclusive,” said Beacon Hill pastor Tom Heger, who's on the board of the Community of Congregations. “I think all public prayer needs to be widely open, inclusive, respectful and diverse.

“There's almost a sense that we're glad the governor is doing this because it got the interfaith community to say, ‘Hey, let's get together and have prayer be a tool to connect us.'”